Edible Landscaping

One day in March, I was walking through Downtown Sacramento and saw a huge, gated community garden that was thriving. Big, bold colors were everywhere, and it wasn’t until I stopped and peering in through the gate that I realized that most of the plants were edible, like the flaming red stalks of Swiss chard.

Instead of growing a huge lawn and planting regular trees, many people are starting to landscape using edible vegetables, herbs, and trees. Remember the feeling of amazement and pleasure you felt the first time you watched the scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when the kids walk into the room in which everything was edible? That’s how I feel about the idea of edible gardening. It makes me giddy to think about landscaping my future yard according to this concept.

Many herbs are not only wonderfully scented and useful in cooking, they also boast gorgeous flowers as well. Take for example Russian sage, pictured above, which is hardy, drought-tolerant, and can be used in border landscaping. The edible landscape idea blurs the traditional lines between garden and yard, which I think is brilliant. While I will probably still set aside a separate space for veggies like tomatoes and squash some day, I also hope to use lavender, thyme and sage in my borders and create my own Willy Wonka wonderland, right in my backyard! Not to mention apricot, cherry, plum, peach trees... What's in your dream garden?